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Photos of My Farm Using a Mavic Pro Drone from DJI

Many of you often comment on how much you enjoy seeing photos of my Bedford, New York farm - I know you'll love these beautiful aerial views.

Recently, a wonderful team from DJI, a market leader in easy-to-fly drones and aerial photography systems, came to the farm with a new model drone called the Mavic Pro. I have flown several different drones over the years, but none as cutting-edge as this one. During the visit, I learned how to take off, navigate, record video, shoot photos and land the device. It was so much fun to fly and so easy to control despite the day's windy winter weather. I can't wait to take it out again and fly it with my grandchildren.

Here are some of the photos I took with the Mavic Pro, and a glimpse at another fun DJI instrument - the Osmo Mobile, which enables you to take still images and motion timelapse videos using a simple hand-held recording stick. For more information, go to DJI's web site by clicking on this highlighted link, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Here I am with senior DJI pilot, Edward Kostakis. He came to the farm to give me a brief training session on the Osmo Mobile and on the Mavic Pro drone. This is the Osmo – DJI’s camcorder. We went over the basics in my blog studio before venturing outside. http://www.dji.com

A 3-axis stabilization system completely integrated with the camera cancels out movements in three directions, so it stays still even if the operator’s hands shake or wobble.

And the Automatic Panorama mode allows for 360-degree views. The easy to use controls rotate the camera to capture images as it goes. All of DJI’s Smart Shooting modes can be controlled and triggered by remote control from
within the DJI GO app on a smartphone.

The Osmo Mobile is designed to
ergonomically fit the palm of the hand. And, its conveniently placed buttons and controls keep important functions within reach.

Here’s my new drone – the DJI Mavic Pro. It’s all ready for its very first flight! I’ve flown many different model drones, but none as advanced as this one.

The Mavic Pro supports 4K video at 30fps.The 3-axis gimbal can stabilize the camera even during high-speed motion for smooth video and sharp photos.

It’s also very compact. Edward showed me how to fold the unit, so it is easy to transport.

The remote control that comes with it is also a nice size.

It comes equipped with a 12-megapixel camera for crystal clear photos and video no matter how rough the flight.

Here’s the handy remote control that accommodates a smartphone.

The Mavic Pro has quick-release folding propellers that just snap into place.

The lightweight design makes this drone just over 7.7-inches long and three-inches wide. The entire unit weighs a little more than 1.5 pounds.

I decided to do the training session at the foot of my Pin Oak Allee, in front of the flower cutting garden and near my Equipment Barn. I love that I can control the camera right from my iPhone, so I can see everything live as I fly! This photo was taken by the Osmo Mobile.

The Mavic uses Flight Autonomy technology to sense obstacles up to 49-feet away. Here it is, ascending very smoothly.

The controls are very easy to use. Satellite positioning helps a drone hover in an unobstructed outdoor area free of interference, but we could see exactly where it was by looking at the phone’s screen.

I was excited to use it – here is my stable – a very beautiful structure that includes the main stable house where my Friesians, donkeys and Fell pony live, the carriage house on the left, and the farm offices on the right.

This is an overhead shot of my chicken coops and vegetable gardens covered with snow.

Here is a different view of the chicken coops and the gardens. The greenish rectangle on the right is the boxwood “nursery”.

And here’s another shot of the chicken coops. If you look closely, you can see the pigeon coops in the upper left corner. My 20-pigeons are doing very well in their new enclosure.

The drone was flown over the paddocks where it captured this nice image of the Stable Barn in the distance. The chicken coops are on the right.

Here is a closer shot of the Stable Barn and the Tropical Hoop House, where I store most of my rare and exotic warm weather plants during winter.

The drone is now directly above the Stable Barn and Tropical Hoop House. It is so amazing to see such clear images – drones have come a long way.

Here is the Stable Barn from a lower vantage point.

I love this sweeping view of the north and south horse paddocks. The straight lines bordered by the antique fencing look so pretty.

Edward showed me some of the take-off and landing techniques with the Mavic Pro’s advanced system. It is recommended that flights do not go higher than 400-feet up.

Here is another stunning view of my farm. This view looks toward my house in the distance.

Next, I directed the drone’s camera toward the tennis court.

This is the Maple Avenue House, another dwelling at my farm. Just next to it is a long lilac allee that I also lined with beautiful roses transplanted from my home in East Hampton, New York.

On the other side of the Maple Avenue House is the Laura Plimpton Maple Woodland, where I have planted hundreds of gorgeous red Japanese maples.

This beautiful aerial shot shows my long carport, which also includes my blog studio and my flower room. Directly behind it is my home, which I call the Winter House, and the Summer House in the back. On the right are the south paddocks.

This is an image of my gym building in the foreground and my main Greenhouse behind it. To the left is my flower cutting garden hidden by the trees.

Here is a closer look at the Equipment Barn, dry hoop house, vegetable greenhouse and hay barn. I am almost directly below the drone.

This is the southeast paddock – the site of a new project at my farm.

The drone then turned towards the Equipment Barn, to show this side of the main Greenhouse and the snow covered paddocks beyond.

If for any reason contact with the drone is lost, the built-in GPS tracker automatically guides the drone to the location from which it took off!

There is also a special “home” button on the device that, when pressed, tells the drone to return.

It’s important to be mindful of trees and any structures. Fortunately, with this model drone, it can sense when objects are in front of it, and will automatically fly around them – it is an excellent feature.

Edward and I posed for a quick photo before going inside where it was warm.

It was fun to see all the wonderful images we took. What a great device. I can’t wait to take it out for another flight – thanks, DJI.